CONTROLLER’S DIVISION CONTRACTS AND GRANTS DEPARTMENT The Contracts and Grants Department (C&G) is charged with responsibility for the fiscal administration of all contracts, grants and other sponsored agreements entered into by the University of Georgia for the conduct of research, instruction and public service. Summary of Major Accomplishments Research Participant Incentive Payment Policy The Research Participant Incentive Policy, in practice since the 1980s, was revised during Fiscal Year 2009. The original policy placed a $50 threshold on payments to human subject participants without requiring social security numbers for tax purposes; required that payments to employees be processed as extra compensation (payroll); and required all payments to non-resident aliens, regardless of dollar amount, to be processed by check request. In order to meet the increasing needs of the research community, minimize the administrative burden and comply with federal reporting requirements, the original policy was revised to increase the threshold to $100 paid to any participant without requiring social security numbers. The incentive methods of payment also were expanded to include cash, checks, gift cards and non-monetary items. Disclosure Statement The University of Georgia received notification from the Defense Contract Audit Agency on January 5, 2009 that the compliance review for the University’s Disclosure Statement (DS2) had been approved and accepted. The University’s Disclosure Statement, which provides the federal government a document detailing current policies, procedures and charging practices applied to federal awards by the University, was submitted July 1, 2005 to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Cost Allocation and revised June 28, 2006. Contracts and Grants Staff Restructure During FY 2009, responsibilities of the Contracts and Grants staff were restructured to create an invoicing/reporting team comprised of grants accounting specialists Is and IIs and an awarding/compliance team comprised of grants accounting specialists IIIs. This restructuring allows entering staff members to be trained on invoicing/reporting initially with the opportunity to learn new tasks as experience is gained. The grants accounting specialists IIIs will process awards based on their agency distribution. The restructure also places the compliance function with the most experienced staff members. Research and Administration Program (RAMP) Graduates Five Contracts and Grants staff members completed RAMP during FY 2009. The training program, conducted by Huron, consisted of 12 training modules held once a month at three-day intervals. The program covered a host of research administration topics, both pre- and post-award, and afforded those staff members with valuable training and information. The program also allowed them to interact with other institutions involved in the same area of research administration. F-39
Transcript
CONTROLLER’S DIVISION CONTRACTS AND GRANTS DEPARTMENT
The Contracts and Grants Department (C&G) is charged with responsibility for the fiscal
administration of all contracts, grants and other sponsored agreements entered into by the
University of Georgia for the conduct of research, instruction and public service.
Summary of Major Accomplishments Research Participant Incentive Payment Policy The Research Participant Incentive Policy, in practice since the 1980s, was revised during
Fiscal Year 2009. The original policy placed a $50 threshold on payments to human
subject participants without requiring social security numbers for tax purposes; required
that payments to employees be processed as extra compensation (payroll); and required
all payments to non-resident aliens, regardless of dollar amount, to be processed by check
request. In order to meet the increasing needs of the research community, minimize the
administrative burden and comply with federal reporting requirements, the original policy
was revised to increase the threshold to $100 paid to any participant without requiring
social security numbers. The incentive methods of payment also were expanded to
include cash, checks, gift cards and non-monetary items.
Disclosure Statement
The University of Georgia received notification from the Defense Contract Audit Agency
on January 5, 2009 that the compliance review for the University’s Disclosure Statement
(DS2) had been approved and accepted. The University’s Disclosure Statement, which
provides the federal government a document detailing current policies, procedures and
charging practices applied to federal awards by the University, was submitted July 1,
2005 to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Cost Allocation and
revised June 28, 2006.
Contracts and Grants Staff Restructure
During FY 2009, responsibilities of the Contracts and Grants staff were restructured to
create an invoicing/reporting team comprised of grants accounting specialists Is and IIs
and an awarding/compliance team comprised of grants accounting specialists IIIs. This
restructuring allows entering staff members to be trained on invoicing/reporting initially
with the opportunity to learn new tasks as experience is gained. The grants accounting
specialists IIIs will process awards based on their agency distribution. The restructure
also places the compliance function with the most experienced staff members.
Research and Administration Program (RAMP) Graduates
Five Contracts and Grants staff members completed RAMP during FY 2009. The training
program, conducted by Huron, consisted of 12 training modules held once a month at
three-day intervals. The program covered a host of research administration topics, both
pre- and post-award, and afforded those staff members with valuable training and
information. The program also allowed them to interact with other institutions involved
in the same area of research administration.
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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Planning
Contracts and Grants developed procedures to fulfill the reporting requirements as
potential recipients of ARRA funds including unique account numbers; attending training
via the Web, telephone and in person; and reviewing federal guidance documents.
Summary of FY 2010 Goals Research Administration and Infrastructure Ad Hoc Committee Report
Beginning in FY 2008, the Research Administration and Infrastructure Ad Hoc
committee was formed by Provost Arnett Mace, Senior Vice President Tim Burgess and
Vice President David Lee. The committee was charged to recommend ways to improve
research and administration efforts that foster a true and balanced culture of support for
the University’s growing research mission and research compliance. The committee was
primarily comprised of faculty members, but also included representation from both
departmental and central administration, including Contracts and Grants. The committee
was formed to provide feedback and recommendations on operational, support, training
and infrastructure needs that would be required to create and foster a more proactive
environment of research at UGA. With the assistance of Huron consultants, the report
was completed in July 2008. Contracts and Grants continues to play a significant role in implementing the 37
recommendations identified in the Research Administration and Infrastructure Ad Hoc
Committee report. Some recommendations have been completed, and efforts continue to
address those that remain.
OnBase Document Imaging and Workflow
C&G, in conjunction with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), began the
implementation of the Onbase Digital Imaging, Workflow and Repository system during
FY 2007. Although the system was unable to produce the required results for C&G, OSP
continued to develop the pre-award processes and completed these processes in FY 2009.
C&G plans to complete the awarding queue function currently included in the OnBase
statement of work during FY 2010.
Contracts and Grants and Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) Training
Graduates from RAMP, including those from OSP, will be conducting 10-minute “mini”
training sessions at the departmental level during FY 2010. The topics to be offered
include, but are not limited to, Surviving Project Close-Out, Successful Cost Transfers,
Effort Reporting, Submitting Proposals at UGA, Residual Balances, and No-Cost
Extensions.
Statistical Information Extramural-funded awards totaled $254,649,264 during FY 2009, an 11.7% increase over
FY 2008. This year’s activity is supported by 3,273 funded proposals.
Exhibit 1 following this narrative summarizes sponsored account activity from the
standpoint of the number of active accounts awarded and administered by Contracts and
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Grants during FY 2009. Activity is classified initially by function and secondly within function by school or college. The number of active restricted accounts totaled 4,547 during the past fiscal year, which represents an increase of 220 accounts. The illustration below presents a comparison of sponsored project expenditure activity between the fiscal years ended June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Overall expenses decreased during FY 2009 by $3.1 million or 1.17% from FY 2008. An analysis of the information provided indicates increases in instruction, research, extension/public service and other sponsored functional areas by $1.6 million, $7.7 million, $1.8 million and $461,063 respectively. Plant fund expenditures represent the only decrease in expenditures (by $14.8 million) during FY 2009.
Other Sponsored 2,261,028.82 2,722,091.74 461,062.92 20.39%Subtotal 211,059,676.78$ 222,763,905.71$ 11,704,228.93 5.55%
Plant Fund 58,956,292.77 44,090,807.04 (14,865,485.73) -25.21%
Total 270,015,969.55$ 266,854,712.75$ (3,161,256.80) -1.17%
Sponsored Project Expenditure Activity Comparison of FY 2008 and FY 2009
Exhibit 2 compares the total University collections of facilities and administrative costs (F&A) during FY 2008 and FY 2009. For the current fiscal year, F&A recoveries totaled $28,807,317.90, which represents an increase of $1,638,477.24 over collections from last year. A further review of this exhibit reveals that the research function accounts for the majority of facilities and administrative
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recoveries, comprising $25,866,244.18 of the total (and representing 89.79% of all recoveries). The illustration below further summarizes Exhibit 2 by comparing the facilities and administrative cost recovery variance of $1,638,477.24 between current and prior fiscal years by function and by budgetary unit. This illustration reveals increases in the research, public service and other sponsored functional areas. On the other hand, an analysis of recoveries by budgetary unit reveals an increase in recoveries within each unit with the exception of vet labs.
The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. recovers a portion of total F&A recoveries from the University. In the illustration below, F&A amounts recovered by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. increased by $317,971 during the current fiscal year.
Amount of PercentFunction Increase (Decrease) ChangeInstruction (152,270.94) -59.60%Research 1,557,256.73 6.41%Public Service 116,491.45 4.47%Other Sponsored 117,000.00 117.00%Total 1,638,477.24 6.03%
Amount of PercentBudgetary Unit Increase (Decrease) ChangeResident Instruction 194,336.06 0.80%Experiment Station 1,039,683.27 49.58%Forestry Extension 231,985.46 73.38%Cooperative Extension 108,464.92 43.06%Marine Institute 24,355.95 61.37%Marine Extension 49,069.21 26.84%Vet Labs (9,417.63) -36.60%Total 1,638,477.24 6.03%
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The facilities and administrative costs recovered by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. over the past 10 years as the research arm of the University are as follows:
Exhibit 3 presents an analysis of expenditures by functional activity compared to the total sponsored project costs. The direct and facilities and administrative cost ratios are listed by function. Based on total sponsored activity expenditures, the research category accounted for the largest share representing 53.64% of the total overall expenses. A further breakdown of the categorical expenditures reveals that research comprises 49.27% of the total University direct cost expenses and 89.79% of the total University facilities and administrative cost expenses. Proposal submission and award activity are presented in Exhibit 4. In summary, FY 2009 proposal submissions totaled $493,385,228, resulting in total awards from sponsoring agencies of $254,649,262. These numbers represent an increase in proposal and award activity over prior year totals of $147,458,126 and $26,646,486, respectively.
The following summary for FY 2008 and FY 2009 provide a comparison of the sources of funding for total awards. Total award funding increased in FY 2009 within the federal, other states and private/foreign categories by $22.4 million, $2.6 million, and $17.9 million respectively.
